Japan's ANA drops plan to buy stake in Myanmar airline

Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) has dropped its plan to buy a 49 per cent stake in a Myanmar airline, blaming "intensified" competition in the country as it quickly emerges from years of economic isolation.

ANA Holdings -- the airline's parent company -- announced last year that it planned to invest about US$25 million (S$31 million) in Asian Wings Airways (AWA).

But "competition between new and old airlines in Myanmar has intensified... calling into question the assumptions made at the time of the original decision", the Japanese firm said in a statement Wednesday (July 30). "Ultimately, negotiations for the capital participation with AWA were unable to reach an agreement, and the investment plan was cancelled as a result." The move will not impact earnings for the current fiscal year, ANA added.

The announcement came as the Japanese carrier said it had swung back to profitability in the three months to June.

With little room for growth in the domestic market, ANA and other Japanese firms have been eyeing Southeast Asia as a lucrative market. Foreign companies have piled into Myanmar since the installation of a nominally civilian government in 2011, eager to make the most of opportunities in the country as it opens up following decades of junta-led government.

Asian Wings said it was disappointed by the ANA pullout. "This is a big loss, not only for us but also for other Myanmar local airlines," said the Myanmar airline's executive director Lwin Moe, adding that it would not have "any difficulties" as a result of the decision.

Shares in ANA closed 2.31 per cent higher at 256.5 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Thursday.

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San Miguel eyes Philippine Airlines buyout

Philippine conglomerate San Miguel said Thursday it hopes to take full control of the country's flag carrier within two months by buying out its local partner. San Miguel in 2012 bought a 49 per cent stake in Philippine Airlines (PAL) US$500 million from LT Group, a holding firm controlled by tobacco tycoon Lucio Tan.

In a statement to the stock exchange San Miguel confirmed local news reports that its president Ramon Ang and PAL were "hopeful" it could buy out the rest of the carrier's shares by the end of September. PAL issued an identical statement to the exchange. Ang and the LT Group had earlier disclosed they were in talks over a possible buy-out of the airline, whose parent PAL Holdings suffered a net loss of US$205.15 million in the nine months to December 2013.

The airline's prospects have improved since the US Federal Aviation Administration removed the Philippines from its air safety blacklist in April, opening the door for Filipino carriers to expand services to the United States. The FAA decision came after the European Union in July last year lifted its own ban on PAL following an upgrade of safety standards. Under Ang, San Miguel, originally a Southeast Asian beer and food giant, has diversified into a wide variety of fields including infrastructure, energy and oil refining.

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Airbus confirms decision to cancel jet order from Skymark Airlines

Airbus on Thursday (July 31) said its decision to cancel a $2.2 billion jet order from Skymark Airlines was final, rejecting the Japanese carrier's suggestion that talks were still ongoing.

The European aircraft maker said this week it had informed Skymark that its purchase of six A380 superjumbos "has been terminated", just hours after the airline said it was still locked in tough negotiations over the order. Skymark's Tokyo-listed shares plunged in the wake of Airbus announcement, wiping out a quarter of its market value in just two sessions.

"We will not talk about the issue of the shipment anymore, as we have cancelled the order," a spokesman for the European firm's Tokyo unit told AFP on Thursday. He added that Airbus would now be working on a compensation deal over the failed deal, which was inked three years ago.

The carrier's shares were down another 1.85 per cent to 212 yen in Tokyo morning trade. Skymark, which reports its latest financial results later on Thursday, had on Tuesday (July 29) acknowledged that the deal was in trouble as a sharp decline in the yen since late 2012 jacked up the cost of purchasing the jets, while it faced increasingly fierce competition.

The carrier said Airbus had threatened it with "overpriced" fees to cancel -- or slim down -- the order as it suggested the small airline be merged into a bigger carrier, which it flatly rejected.

Skymark has posted its first net loss in five years as stiff competition in the domestic market dented its books. The company, which was launched in 1998 in a bid to offer more choice in a market long controlled by Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, flies dozens of domestic routes with a fleet of thirty aircraft.

However, the emergence of a handful of low-cost carriers in recent years has offered up stiff competition to the major carriers, and dented Skymark's finances. The airline posted a net loss of 1.85 billion yen ($18 million) in its last fiscal year, after seeing profits drop by more than half in the prior year.

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SIA Q1 profit falls 71.3%, flags weak outlook

Singapore Airlines, Asia’s second-largest carrier by market value, reported a 71.3 per cent fall in its fiscal first-quarter net profit, as intense competition for passengers and cargo squeezed yields and its share of profits from associated companies dropped, mainly because of losses at Tiger Airways.

“Looking at the competition and what is coming in terms of capacity, we think that the next 1-2 years will continue to exert pressure on yields. We will have to manage our costs better, including fuel costs, in order to stay competitive,” SIA chairman Stephen Lee said on the sidelines of the company’s shareholders’ meeting today (July 30).

Five analysts have a “sell” rating on SIA, six rate it as a “buy” and 10 have a “hold” recommendation.

Battling intense competition from Gulf airlines and discount carriers, SIA Chief Executive Goh Choon Phong is pushing Singapore’s flag carrier into new markets including India, while increasing the group’s exposure to the low-cost segment through Tiger and its fully-owned subsidiary Scoot.

An overcapacity in the global air freight market is also hitting SIA, whose cargo unit still reported an operating loss.

Net income in the three months ended June was S$34.8 million, compared with S$121.8 million a year earlier, SIA said. Sales dropped 4.1 per cent to S$3.68 billion.

SIA, facing increased competition from budget airlines and Middle East carriers such as Emirates that are expanding into Asia, took a loss of S$18.9 million from associated companies, mainly from Tiger, in the quarter, compared with a loss of S$2.9 million a year earlier, according to the statement.

Tiger, which is 40 per cent owned by SIA, earlier this month reported a loss of S$65.2 million in the quarter ended in June, widening from a S$32.8 million loss a year earlier. The budget carrier plans to put more focus on growing its overseas business and ground eight planes to help revive the business after losing money for three straight quarters.

Travel demand to Thailand has eased since the May imposition of martial law while the two crashes involving Malaysian Airlines planes threaten to slow visitor arrivals to the Southeast Asian region.

“This sector has got far, far too much outside its own ability to control,” said Mr Credit Suisse analyst Timothy Ross. “There’s going to be weaknesses in Southeast Asia, where we’ve seen Thailand impact travel demand. The ongoing difficulties that Malaysian Airlines is having probably rubbed off a little bit for travel demand in the region.”

Operating profit dropped 52 per cent in the first quarter as growing competition hurt ticket prices. The airline’s passenger yield, or the money earned from carrying travellers one kilometre, fell to 10.9 Singapore cents from 11.1 cents a year earlier, while cargo yield rose to 33 cents from 32.7 cents.

Cost of fuel, the airline’s biggest expense, fell 4.7 per cent to S$1.37 billion.

The airline gained S$20.4 million from fuel hedging in the quarter, compared with a loss of S$42.8 million, it said.

Passengers carried by SIA rose 1.7 per cent to 4.65 million in the quarter and the carrier filled 77.7 per cent of available seats. It packed 278.5 million kilograms of cargo, 0.4 per cent more than a year ago, and filled 62.4 per cent of space.

“Aggressive fares and capacity injections from competitors will continue to place pressure on yields,” SIA cautioned. “The outlook for the air transportation industry has become more challenging with continuing uncertain global economic climate, geo-political concerns in the region and elevated fuel prices,” SIA added.

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Thai Airways bans shark fin from cargo flights

Thai Airways has banned shark fin from its cargo flights as part of a growing global campaign against the popular delicacy in Asia.

The carrier joins a host of other airlines in taking a stand against shark fin, highly prized by many in the region, especially in Hong Kong and China where it is commonly served as a soup at wedding banquets and corporate parties.

"As part of the world community sharing in the great concern for the protection of endangered species and the environment, Thai Airways International has implemented its own official policy to place an embargo on the shipping of shark fin products," the airline said in a statement Tuesday.

Conservationists say booming demand for fins has put pressure on the world's shark populations, prompting calls for measures to restrict their trade.

Thai Airways officially stopped flying shark fin from July 15 but has avoided shipping fins for over a year, according to the statement. The move brings the carrier into line with a number of other Asian airlines including Philippine Airlines, which said in April it had stopped flying shark fin cargoes.

Air New Zealand as well as South Korea's two largest airlines, Korean Air and Asiana, separately announced last year that they would ban shark fins from their cargo flights, a year after Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific also stopped shipping them.

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Asia tourist boom fuels airport binge

Faced with snaking queues at immigration, overflowing baggage carousels and expensive flight delays, Asian nations are rushing to build hundreds of new airports to cope with surging demand for air travel in the region.

From China and India to the Philippines and Indonesia, the fast-growing middle classes are looking to spend their cash by spreading their wings, leading to a boom in the Asia-Pacific region's tourism sector. Airlines have responded by setting up several new budget carriers and flying new routes -- but many airports are unable to cope, forcing governments to either expand or simply build new airports.

"Through the next 10 years, we see more than 350 new airports in the Asia-Pacific and the investment cost will be well over $100 billion," said Chris De Lavigne, a global vice president at business consultancy Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific.

"China is building over 100 airports, India is building over 60 airports and Indonesia will also have to follow suit with investments in its infrastructure," said De Lavigne, who closely tracks Asia's aviation industry.

Upgrades of existing airports could cost an additional $25 billion, he told AFP by telephone from his office in Jakarta. International tourist arrivals in Asia-Pacific grew an annual 6.0 per cent to 248 million last year, the strongest of any region worldwide, according to the UN World Tourism Organization. To cope with this, construction is being ramped up.

The Canada-based Airports Council International (ACI) said in a report that Indonesia plans to build 62 new airports in the next five years, in addition to its existing 237. Soekarno-Hatta in Jakarta is improving capacity after handling 60 million passengers last year, nearly three times what it was designed for, ACI said.

And Kuala Lumpur aims to double capacity to 100 million a year by 2020, while Hong Kong wants to handle 97 million annually by 2030, up from 60 million in 2013. In Beijing -- which already has a hub servicing 80 million people -- a second, $11 billion airport is being built to open in 2018 and handle 40 million passengers, Sydney-based consultancy Centre for Aviation said.

There are also plans for a full replacement of Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport, one of Asia's most notorious for overcrowding and backward facilities. Its Terminal 1, which is undergoing a major makeover, was built in 1981 to handle six million passengers a year. Together with two extension terminals, the airport handled around 30 million passengers in 2013.

Even Singapore's Changi -- regarded by many as one of the world's best -- is expanding, with a $1.0 billion Terminal 4 opening in 2017 that will raise capacity to 82 million passengers from the current 54 million. Plans are already being made for a Terminal 5.

Shukor Yusof, an analyst with Malaysia-based Endau Analytics, said airport infrastructure in many countries has lagged well behind travel growth.

"Many governments have paid scant attention to developing new terminals and new tarmacs, that's why you find that many of the airports are bursting at the seams," he said.

The focus is not just on capitals. The need for more space means much of the new construction is taking place in secondary cities, with some facilities potentially becoming hubs.

De Lavigne cited the Kualanamu International Airport in Indonesia's Medan, which opened last July and could become a hub for flights to Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, India and China. It was designed to handle eight million passengers a year but is already at capacity, he said.

"By 2025, they're forecasting 24 million passengers out of Medan, or a three-fold increase in just over 10 years," De Lavigne said, adding that Indonesia's aviation sector alone is growing 14-15 per cent a year.

Even less developed tourist destinations are pressing ahead with building. Myanmar -- returning to the global fold after decades of isolation -- is looking to upgrade 39 airports as tourist and domestic air passenger figures are seen surging to 30 million in 2030 from 4.2 million in 2013, the ACI said.

The government is also building a new $1.5 billion Hanthawaddy International Airport to serve as Yangon's second airport, it added.

Bangladesh is constructing a new airport costing up to $7.2 billion about 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Dhaka, ACI said. Funding from governments and the private sector does not appear to be a problem.

"There's a lot of liquidity out there. There's a lot of money in project financing," Shukor said.

Airports are now even targeting non-travellers, with the current trend for "aeroparks and aerotropolises" integrating lifestyle amenities, attracting diners and shoppers who won't even board flights.

"You get people who don't fly to come into the airports for food, shopping and other lifestyle activities. That trend which started in the West is increasingly finding its way into Asia," De Lavigne said.

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Jetstar apologises after passengers reportedly told to flush drugs

Australian budget airline Jetstar has apologised after a crew member reportedly told passengers to flush any drugs they had down a toilet before their flight landed in Sydney.

The flight, from the Gold Coast to Sydney on Sunday, was carrying some passengers returning from a music festival, Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday (July 30).

"We have been told there are sniffer dogs and quarantine officers waiting in the domestic terminal," the newspaper reported the flight attendant, who was not named, as saying. "If you need to dispose of anything you shouldn't have, we suggest you flush it now."

The airline did not confirm the words but said in a statement that it was required to play a pre-recorded quarantine message, which could also be delivered by the cabin crew, to passengers.

"The crew member's words were poorly chosen and are plainly at odds with the professional standards we'd expect from our team," it said.

"Our cabin crew play a vital role in ensuring the safety and well-being of our customers," Jetstar added. "We apologise to customers offended by the comments. We're addressing the matter with the cabin crew member involved."

It was not clear if there were dogs and officers at the terminal. The crew member's remarks received a mixed response.

One passenger on board the flight told the Daily Telegraph they were "shocked", adding: "Why would you tip people off about this?" but another commentator on Jetstar's Facebook page said having sniffer dogs at the airport was "entrapment" and "your cabin crew did the best thing for all".

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Japan's All Nippon Airways swings back to profitability

Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) said on Wednesday (July 30) it had swung back to profitability in the three months to June, thanks to an expansion at a Tokyo airport and a change to its pension plan.

The carrier said net profit was 3.5 billion yen ($34 million) against a loss of 6.6 billion yen a year earlier, while quarterly sales rose 10.0 percent to 386.8 billion yen. It also logged an operating profit of 347 million yen, from an operating loss of 5.6 billion a year ago.

The sharp improvement came as ANA expanded its international services, benefiting from a major expansion of Tokyo's downtown Haneda Airport, which helped offset a jump in operating expenses mainly due to higher fuel costs.

The firm also booked a 9.9 billion yen extraordinary gain as it changed the structure of its corporate pension scheme, ANA said.

The firm's sales growth was supported by solid demand for domestic and international air travel. Like Japan Airlines, ANA said its overseas business saw strong demand, while flights to Japan rose steadily as the country logs record tourist arrivals. The firm benefited from Haneda's increased capacity to handle international flights, with ANA adding services to major cities such as London, Paris and Hanoi.

"ANA continues to strengthen its network, taking advantage of the expansion of international slots at Haneda Airport from this March," it said

The airline left unchanged its forecast for the fiscal year through March, expecting a 35 billion yen net profit, an operating profit of 85 billion yen, and 1.7 trillion yen in annual sales.

On Tuesday, Japan Airlines said its April-June net profit fell 19.4 per cent to $145 million, after repeatedly warning about the steadily rising cost of fuel, often a carrier's single-biggest expense. A weaker yen inflates the cost of dollar-priced commodities such as jet fuel.

"It looks like ANA and JAL's earnings will be okay in the next quarter. But for the rest of the year, we have to wait and see what the impact of domestic fare prices increases will be after the summer," said Ryota Himeno, analyst at Barclays Securities Japan. "They're facing intense competition from other modes of transportation, such as the bullet train."

ANA and JAL are increasing their use of the lighter weight Boeing Dreamliner to contain costs, but the fuel-efficient aircraft has been hit by a series of technical problems that forced a months-long grounding last year.

However, the two airlines have stood by Dreamliner, with ANA slated to become the world's first airline to operate the new stretched version of the plane in August.

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JAL's quarterly net profit drops 19.4% to US$145m

Japan Airlines (JAL) said on Tuesday its net profit for the April-June quarter fell 19.4 per cent to US$145 million (S$180 million), as a weak yen and soaring fuel costs dug into its results.

The carrier said net profit fell to 14.8 billion yen (US$145 million), while operating profit also dropped 15.6 per cent to 18.6 billion yen. Sales ticked up 4.4 per cent to 307.1 billion yen.

A brief company statement did not outline reasons for the weaker profit figures. But the airline has previously warned that a sharp drop in the yen has driven up the cost of fuel, often a carrier's single-biggest expense. The weaker currency makes commodities priced in US dollars more expensive.

The yen has lost about a quarter of its value against the dollar since late 2012 as Japanese premier Shinzo Abe and his hand-picked team at the Bank of Japan launched a policy blitz, dubbed "Abenomics", aimed at kickstarting the economy and reversing years of deflation.

During the three months to June, JAL said it saw a rise in demand for both overseas and domestic flights. The company logged a 7.6 per cent increase in revenues from international passenger services, while from domestic flight revenue edged up 0.5 per cent.

JAL and its chief rival All Nippon Airways have expanded their international operations as Tokyo's Haneda airport significantly boosted its capacity to accommodate international flights.

Following Haneda's expansion, JAL launched additional flights linking Tokyo with London, Paris, Singapore, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City. The firm also increased domestic flights between Haneda and regional cities across Japan.

But JAL warned that its operating costs rose 9.5 per cent in the first quarter, compared with the same period last year.

JAL maintained its annual forecast for the fiscal year through March, with the firm expecting a net profit of 115 billion yen, down 30.8 per cent from a year earlier, and an operating profit of 140 billion yen, down 16.1 per cent. Annual sales were expected to come in at 1.35 trillion yen, up 3.1 per cent.

JAL, along with ANA, is increasing its use of the lighter weight Boeing Dreamliner to contain costs, but the fuel-efficient aircraft has been hit by a series of technical problems that forced a months-long grounding last year.

JAL re-listed its shares in Tokyo in 2012 to mark a spectacular turnaround three years after it went bankrupt with massive debts and saw its stock delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

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Qantas to continue flying over Iraq

Australian airline Qantas on Tuesday (July 29) said it would continue flying over Iraqi airspace, despite alliance partner Emirates deciding to alter its routes over concerns about jihadist missile attacks following the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.

Qantas said while it no longer flew over Syria or Ukraine over fears their airspace could be "unsafe", "there is no information to suggest that there is risk to commercial aircraft passing over Iraq, particularly at the altitudes we fly".

"Qantas is one of many airlines that currently flies over parts of Iraq en route to Europe," the airline's chief pilot Dick Tobiano said in a statement. The carrier said its average altitude over the Middle East region was about 38,000 to 41,000 feet, far exceeding the US Federal Aviation Administration's recommendation of above 20,000 feet.

"Qantas would never compromise its passengers or crew by flying over an area if we thought it was unsafe," Tobiano said. "We will continue to monitor the situation closely and make any changes needed to ensure the safety of our passengers."

The risks of overflying combat zones has taken centre stage following the deaths of 298 people on board the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 after it was apparently shot down by a missile above rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine.

Emirates' president Tim Clark told London's The Times newspaper in an interview published on Monday his airline would stop flying over Iraq. He also predicted that other carriers would re-route their flights.

"This is a political animal but ... the fact of the matter is MH17 changed everything, and that was very nearly in European airspace," Clark said.

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways said in a statement it would continue to fly over Iraq at this stage, adding that the "nature of the current security environment in Iraq is significantly different than in the Ukraine".

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Emirates airline says it will not fly over Iraq

Emirates will stop flying over Iraq due to concerns over missile attacks following the MH17 air disaster in Ukraine, the airline's president Tim Clark told The Times on Monday (July 28).

Almost 300 people aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 died when it came down in eastern Ukraine nearly two weeks ago, with Washington and Europe claiming it was shot down by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile fired by pro-Moscow militants.

"This is a political animal but... the fact of the matter is MH17 changed everything, and that was very nearly in European airspace," Clark told The Times in an interview published on Monday. "We cannot continue to say, 'Well it's a political thing'. We have to do something. We have to take the bull by the horns."

Clark predicted other carriers would also decide to stop flying over Iraq, as the global airline industry reviews the risk of overflying combat zones.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, a Boeing 777 aircraft, was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 298 people aboard on July 17 when it was downed close to the village of Grabove, in the rebellion-wracked region of Donetsk in east Ukraine.

"The horrors that this created was a kick in the solar plexus for all of us," Clark told the daily paper. "Nevertheless having got through it we must take stock and deal with it."

On Sunday meanwhile, the commercial director of Malaysia Airlines called for a complete overhaul of the way flight paths are deemed safe following the plane's downing by a suspected missile. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Hugh Dunleavy said the disaster would have "an unprecedented impact on the aviation industry", claiming that airlines can no longer depend on aviation authorities for reliable information about flying over conflict zones.

"For too long, airlines have been shouldering the responsibility for making decisions about what constitutes a safe flight path, over areas in political turmoil around the world," he wrote. "We are not intelligence agencies, but airlines, charged with carrying passengers in comfort between destinations."

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Week 65: A320 Type Rating Week 4

This was a really short week with only two days in school, one of which only lasted about two hours. Monday was the interesting one as we were split into groups of three to fly the fixed base simulator. Well, not exactly fly since most of it was on auto-pilot.

For the first time, I got to really deal with the FMGC on thr MCDU. The whole process of inputting all data and flight parameters. We were given a flight plan between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and were supposed to key in what's necessary into the FMGC so that we can commence with the flight. The keying in of data is done in the sequence below:-

DATA: This is the page where we select the data stored in the system; all the airport and waypoints data
INIT: Input current location and destination, company route, flight number, cost index, cruise fight/temp and tropopause level
F-PLN: Selecting which runway to take and the subsequent waypoints the AP will fly to, ending with arrival waypoint and runway to land
SEC F-PLN: Usually make a copy of the original flight plan, and in case there's any last minute changes, it can be amended here and make active.
RAD NAV: Selecting the VOR, ADF/NDB
INIT: Input ZFWCZG/ZFW as well as block fuel's weight
PERF: Input values of V1, VR, V2, transition altitude, T/O Shift, Flaps/THS, Flex T/O Temp etc etc.
PROG:  Progress page showing different phases of the flight.

Once these are done, the computer is pretty much set up. I did a take-off for the first time and the feeling was way too different as compared to the C172. Getting the correct pitch attitude of 15degrees wasn't easy, I had to get used to the sensitivity of the side stick in time to come. Next, we truncate the flight and went straight to the approach at KLIA. We weren't allowed to land manually, giving the task to both APs to land with ILS. The APs are so accurate that the glideslope didn't go out of alignment at all. Upon landing, I pulled back the power and went into reverse thrust to have a feel of how it's like. When it hit 70kts, reverse thrust will be cut and normal taxi will resume with some brakes applied. Overall, a very good experience and I learnt a lot in the short two hours.

The next day we were dealing with MCC and MEL/CDL. It was a pretty dry topic teaching us on how to operate in a multi-crew environment. MEL refers to Minimum Equipment List, a list of things with the aircraft needs to have on different situation. If it doesn't meet the minimum requirement, a replacement aircraft will have to be requested.

Spent $130 to get this tablet during the weekend to assist in my document reading during flight. The FCOM is over 4000pages thick, and without the electronic version it's gonna be unthinkable to carry around

Twin tragedies push Malaysia Airlines to the brink

Any airline would struggle with the devastating impact of losing one jet full of passengers, especially if it had already been bleeding money for years.

But losing another just months later is pushing crisis-hit Malaysia Airlines to the brink of financial collapse, airline experts said, spotlighting whether it can steer its way out of extended turmoil as once-troubled carriers such as Korean Air and Garuda Indonesia did before.

The flag carrier needs an immediate intervention from the Malaysian government investment fund that controls its purse strings, and likely deep restructuring, to survive the twin tragedies of flights MH370 and MH17, analysts added.

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) was already struggling with years of declining bookings and mounting financial losses when MH370's mysterious disappearance in March with 239 people aboard sent the carrier into free-fall.

The July 17 downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine, which killed all 298 people on board, deeply compounds those woes.

"The harrowing reality for Malaysia Airlines after MH17 is that if the government doesn't have an immediate game plan, every day that passes will contribute to its self-destruction and eventual demise," said Shukor Yusof, an analyst with Malaysia-based aviation consultancy Endau Analytics.

Shukor said MAS was losing $1 million to $2 million a day, and has "the bandwidth to stay afloat for about six more months based on my estimates of its cash reserves".

While the MH17 disaster was beyond the airline's control -- pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine stand accused of shooting it down with a missile -- bookings are expected to take a further significant hit, as they did in MH370's wake.

"I'm not considering going to Malaysia in the next few years. Not unless Malaysia Airlines acts or does something in the future that will allow people to feel more relaxed about travelling there," said Zhang Bing, a Chinese national in Beijing.

Jonathan Galaviz, a partner at the US-based travel and tourism consultancy Global Market Advisors, said "perception is key in the airline industry".

"Unfortunately for Malaysia Airlines, potential international customers are now going to link the brand to tragedy," said Galaviz.

The airline already has announced refunds for ticket cancellations following MH17, which Galaviz said would cost millions of dollars. Speculation is rife that state investment vehicle Khazanah Nasional, which owns 69 per cent of the airline, will delist its shares and take it private, which could set the stage for painful cost-cutting measures and other reforms.

Analysts have long blamed poor management, government interference, a bloated workforce, and powerful, reform-resistant employee unions for preventing the airline from remaining competitive.

MAS lost a combined 4.1 billion ringgit ($1.3 billion) from 2011-13. It bled a further 443 million ringgit in the first quarter of this year, blaming MH370's "dramatic impact" on bookings. Khazanah declined to comment on future plans for the airline.

But writing in Britain's Sunday Telegraph on Sunday, Hugh Dunleavy, Malaysia Airlines' commercial director, stated that the carrier "will eventually overcome this tragedy and emerge stronger".

The Malaysian government had begun to speed up its review of the airline's future -- started after the disappearance of MH370 -- following the second tragedy, Dunleavy wrote.

"There are several options on the table but all involve creating an airline fit for purpose in what is a new era for us, and other airlines. With the unwavering support we have received from the Malaysian government, we are confident of our recovery, whatever the shape of the airline in future," he wrote.

Other airlines have risen from the ashes, lessons that could be instructive for MAS, experts said.

Indonesia's state-owned Garuda Indonesia was plagued by a series of problems in the 1990s and early 2000s, including heavy debts and the murder of a prominent human rights campaigner mid-air in 2004.
Safety problems also blighted its image, including a 1997 crash on Sumatra island that killed all 234 aboard and remains Indonesia's deadliest air disaster.

Former banker Emirsyah Satar was appointed in 2005 to turn around the airline, and he undertook a massive exercise to nurse it back to health. In 2010, it was named the world's most improved airline by London-based consultancy Skytrax.

Korean Air was in trouble after a period during the 1980s and 1990s when several accidents left more than 700 people dead. It embarked on a major reform push, bringing in retired Delta Air Lines vice-president David Greenberg in 2000, who subsequently revolutionised its safety and operational practices. Korean Air is now widely respected worldwide.

Shukor said Malaysia's government and Khazanah face a "mammoth task" but that the airline could learn much from carriers that have faced similar challenges.

"Its name is now synonymous with disaster, mismanagement, lack of discipline and many negative elements," he said.

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TransAsia Airways' profile

Founded in 1951, TransAsia Airways was Taiwan's first private airline. It started with just eight European-made ATR-72 aircraft, built through a joint-venture with the Airbus Group.

Today, it is Taiwan's third-biggest airline by fleet-size, after China Airlines and Eva Airways. It is one of three airlines that flies daily to Penghu Island - a popular tourist destination.

TransAsia Airways flies mostly on domestic routes, but has some international flights, including to China, Japan and Singapore.

Website airlineratings.com gives the airline a safety rating of six out of seven.

According to Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council, TransAsia has had eight accidents since 2002, with 49 people killed - this includes the 48 passengers in the latest crash.

The cause of Wednesday's crash is still unknown. But investigators from the Aviation Safety Council are examining all possibilities, including weather, mechanical failure and human error.

Taiwanese officials have defended the decision to allow flight GE222 to take-off that fateful day. They said weather conditions were within acceptable limits.

The route between Kaohsiung and Penghu has experienced some 13 airplane accidents since the route was started, with 350 people killed. But Taiwan's major airlines have made improvements in safety, after several fatal crashes in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Wednesday's crash is likely to deal a blow to TransAsia's expansion plans. The airline had planned to launch the island's first low-cost airline this year.

TransAsia could also be suspended for 12 months from applying for new international routes, including the lucrative cross-strait sector.

Listed on the Taiwan stock exchange, TransAsia shares fell 5.5 per cent on news of the crash, but has since made a modest recovery.

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Airline group vows action after black week for aviation

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Friday (July 25) it will "leave nothing unturned" to boost global aviation safety after a black week for the industry that has claimed over 460 lives in three separate crashes.

"With three tragedies in such quick succession, many people will, understandably, be asking questions about aviation safety," Tony Tyler, the head of the global airline federation, said in a statement. "The greatest respect that we can pay to the memory of those involved is to leave nothing unturned in our quest to understand the cause and to take steps to ensure that it is not repeated.

"Our number one priority is safety. And despite the events of the past seven days, flying is safe," he added.

Tyler's comments came at the end of a disastrous week for the aviation industry. On July 17, a Malaysia Airlines jet crashed in rebel-held eastern Ukraine, believed downed by a surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people on board. A Taiwanese aircraft crashed in torrential rain in southwest Taiwan on Wednesday, killing 48. On Friday, the wreckage of an Air Algerie plane bound for Algier from Burkina Faso with at least 116 people on board was found in Mali's Gossi region, a day after it went missing.

Tyler said the number of fatalities from aviation incidents this year had surpassed the 210 deaths seen last year. "But even so, getting on an aircraft is still among the safest activities that one can do," he said. "Safeguarding our customers from harm as we transport them around the world is core to the mission of the aviation industry."

IATA represents 240 airlines around the world that account for 84 per cent of total air traffic.

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Wreckage of missing Algerian airliner found in Mali

The wreckage of an Air Algerie plane missing since early Thursday with 116 people on board has been found in Mali near the Burkina Faso border, an army coordinator in Ouagadougou said.

"We have found the Algerian plane. The wreck has been located ... 50 kilometres north of the Burkina Faso border" in the Malian region of Gossi, said General Gilbert Diendiere of the Burkina Faso army.

A witness had earlier reported seeing the plane "falling" in the region of Gossi and the general said they were taking the reports seriously as they matched radar images of the flight path.

"That is where we will strengthen our search," he had added.

Flight AH5017, which originated in Ouagadougou and was bound for Algiers with 51 French nationals aboard, according to Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, went missing amid reports of heavy storms, company sources and officials said.

It had been presumed to have been lost even before French President Francois Hollande went on TV to announce: "Everything leads us to believe that the plane has crashed."

He said the plane's Spanish crew had signalled they were altering course "due to particularly difficult weather conditions".

Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal was earlier cited as saying by Algerian radio that the plane dropped off the radar at Gao, 500 kilometres (300 miles) from the Algerian border.

"Contact was lost with the McDonnell Douglas 83 at 1:47, a little after the pilots said they were diverting from the route due to meteorological reasons," Fabius had said.

The airline said it also had 24 Burkinabe, eight Lebanese, six Algerians, six Spanish, five Canadians, four Germans and two Luxembourg nationals on board.

Mali, Algeria, Niger and France coordinated their search efforts under the umbrella of the French-led military intervention in Mali, Operation Serval.

"Even though the aircraft was above Mali it was in airspace managed by the control centre in Niamey in Niger," an air traffic control official told AFP.

Aviation sources told AFP the MD-83 was leased from Spanish company Swiftair.

Its six-member crew were all Spanish, said Spain's airline pilots' union Sepla, and Swiftair confirmed the aircraft went missing less than an hour after takeoff.

The plane had apparently been given the "all clear" following an inspection in France only this week, the French civil aviation authority DGAC said.

In France, two crisis units had been set up, at the DGAC and at the foreign ministry, DGAC said, in addition to another two at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Paris and at Marseille airport.

DGAC said that many passengers had been due to catch onward connecting flights to Paris and Marseille.

In Mali, the prime minister's office also said contact was lost around Gao.

"The plane was not far from the Algerian frontier when the crew was asked to make a detour because of poor visibility and to prevent the risk of collision with another aircraft on the Algiers-Bamako route," an airline source said.

"Contact was lost after the change of course."

A controller in Mali, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the area was rocked by "strong storms" overnight.

Air Algerie, in a statement carried by national news agency APS, said it had initiated an "emergency plan" in the search for AH5017, which flies the four-hour passenger route four times a week.

In Cuba, the daughter of President Raul Castro assured journalists she was alive and well, contradicting reports that she had been on board the flight.

Mariela Castro, a sexologist and gay rights activist, said she had been told there was another passenger of the same name aboard flight AH5017.

The crash comes less than six months after one of Algeria's worst air disasters.

In February, a C-130 military aircraft carrying 78 people crashed in poor weather in the mountainous northeast, killing more than 70 people.

The plane had been flying from the desert garrison town of Tamanrasset in Algeria's deep south to Constantine, 320 kilometres east of Algiers.

Tamanrasset was the site of the country's worst-ever civilian air disaster, in March 2003.

In that accident, all but one of the 103 people on board were killed when an Air Algerie Boeing 737-200 crashed on takeoff after one of its engines caught fire.

The sole survivor, a young Algerian soldier, was critically injured.

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Russian airlines resume flights to Israel

Russia's second-largest airline Transaero said Thursday (July 24) it was resuming flights to Israel, two days after suspending traffic along with other major airlines over security concerns.

"As of today, Transaero will operate all services between Russia and Israel according to schedule," the company said in statement.

Transaero turned around one of its flights to Tel Aviv in mid-air on Tuesday after European aviation authorities cautioned against flying to Ben Gurion International Airport, after a Hamas rocket struck a neighbourhood to the north of the airport.

In the United States, the FAA on Thursday lifted its two-day ban on US airlines flying into or out of Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel's only international hub.

Russia's largest airline, Aeroflot, said late Wednesday it was resuming flights to Israel.

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48 killed, 10 survivors in Taiwan plane crash: airline

Taiwan's TransAsia Airways said Thursday (July 24) that 48 people were killed and 10 survived when one of its turboprop passenger planes crashed after an aborted landing during stormy weather.

Flight GE222 was carrying 54 passengers and four crew members on a domestic flight when it crashed on Wednesday at Magong on the Penghu island chain, TransAsia said, clarifying conflicting death tolls given by officials previously. Two French medical students were among the dead, the foreign ministry in Paris said.

The ATR 72-500 was flying from the southwestern city of Kaohsiung to the islands off the west coast and had been delayed by bad weather as Typhoon Matmo pounded Taiwan, according to authorities. It was trying to land for a second time after aborting the first attempt during heavy rain, crashing into two houses near Magong airport and injuring five people on the ground, officials said.

TransAsia said it planned to compensate each family of the deceased with NT$1 million ($33,000), and offer NT$200,000 to each of the injured.

Television images showed firefighters working in torrential rain to douse fires from the plane's wreckage and soldiers deployed to help on the scene. The mother of one survivor said: "My daughter called me. She said 'mum, my plane crashed'. She said she climbed out and borrowed a phone from others."

TransAsia, Taiwan's first private airline, flies domestic routes as well as to China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam. It is due to launch the island's first low-cost airline later this year. An ATR-72 operated by Lao Airlines crashed during a heavy storm in southern Laos in October 2013, killing all 49 people on board.

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Boeing boosts 2014 profit forecast after strong Q2

US aerospace giant Boeing on Wednesday raised its full-year profit forecast after earnings soared 52 per cent in the second quarter, lifted by increased jetliner deliveries.

Boeing posted net profit of US$1.65 billion for the April-June quarter, up from US$1.09 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Core earnings per share rose 45 per cent to US$2.42, widely topping the US$2.01 expected by analysts.

The company delivered 181 commercial aircraft in the second quarter, a solid 7.1 per cent increase from 169 planes a year earlier amid robust demand from airlines.

Boeing raised its 2014 full-year forecast to core earnings per share between US$7.90 and US$8.10, from US$7.15 to US$7.35, citing in part its "positive market outlook."

The improved earnings outlook, with a midpoint of US$8.00, beat market estimates of US$7.67. The Chicago-based company had also raised its profit forecast at the end of the first quarter.

"Strong operating performance across our production programs and services businesses drove revenue and earnings-per-share growth and healthy operating cash flow," Boeing's chairman and chief executive Jim McNerney said in a statement.

"With 783 new commercial airplane orders to date this year and significant contracts in the quarter for military aircraft and satellites, our backlog remains large and diverse."

The second-quarter results included a total of US$524 million in tax benefits.

They also included an unexpected US$272 million after-tax charge to reflect additional work on the huge KC-46A Tanker programme for the US Air Force.

Boeing explained the charge was due to higher spending to resolve engineering and systems installation issues on its tanker test aircraft to keep the programme on schedule.

McNerney said "the issues are well understood" and the company remains on track to begin flight testing fully provisioned tankers in the first part of next year.

In 2011, Boeing won the US$30 billion contract to supply 18 tankers by 2017, beating a bid by European rival Airbus, and plans to deliver the first tanker in early 2016.

Boeing expects to build 179 tankers by 2027 if the US Air Force exercises all options under the contract.

Despite beating profit expectations, shares in Dow component Boeing tumbled 2.3 per cent to US$126.71 as the tanker charge raised concerns.

"It is worrying that Boeing is booking a charge of this magnitude at a relatively early stage in this long-term programme, particularly given recent assurances from management that everything was going to plan," said Robert Stallard, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

During the second quarter, Boeing's commercial aircraft division booked 264 net orders, bringing the orders backlog to 5,200 airplanes, valued at a record US$377 billion.

Boeing had a net 499 new orders for the first half of the year, outpacing European rival Airbus's 290 orders. Boeing also was ahead in deliveries, at 342, compared with 303 for Airbus.

Leading Boeing's second-quarter deliveries was the best-selling single-aisle 737 aircraft, with 124 deliveries. Next were 30 deliveries of the new 787 Dreamliner, the high-tech plane that was grounded globally for more than three months last year due to lithium-ion battery problems.

Boeing reiterated that it expected to deliver between 715 and 725 jetliners this year, after a record 648 deliveries in 2013.

Boeing, in early July, raised its 20-year forecast for global jetliner demand by 12.5 per cent, to US$4.5 trillion, assuming that airline traffic would grow by five percent each year.

During the month Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways finalised orders totalling 200 777X airplanes, and British low-cost carrier Monarch Airlines committed to buy 30 737 MAX planes.

Second-quarter revenues at the world's largest aerospace company rose one per cent to US$22.05 billion, missing estimates of US$22.23 billion.

The commercial aircraft division scored a 5.0 per cent rise in revenues, to US$14.30 billion.

Revenues at the smaller defence, space and security division fell 5.4 per cent to US$7.75 billion, reflecting lower US defence spending in the wake of budget cuts.

Boeing said it repurchased 11.4 million shares for US$1.5 billion during the second quarter and raised its dividend payments by about 50 percent.

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India's Jet eyes profit by 2017 with boost from Etihad

Jet Airways, India's second-biggest carrier, forecast Wednesday a return to profit in three years through cost-cuts, route-sharing with new partner Etihad Airways and restructuring of hefty debt. The publicly traded airline, which has not posted an annual profit since 2007, has been struggling in an overcrowded market beset by cut-throat fare wars, high fuel costs and shoddy infrastructure.

"The game plan is in place, it's now about delivery," Jet Airways' new chief executive Cramer Ball told reporters in New Delhi. "It's a three-year plan -- 2015 we will reduce losses, 2016 we will consolidate and 2017 we'll have profitability," he said.

Ball was speaking at the airline's first news conference with Etihad since India cleared in May the fast-growing Abu Dhabi airline's purchase of a 24-per cent stake in the Indian carrier for 21 billion rupees (US$330 million). Jet's shares jumped nearly six per cent on the turnaround plan before finishing up 3.5 per cent at 264.95 rupees. Ball, an Australian, said Jet was already profitable on international routes which contribute 43 per cent of revenues, a figure he projected would rise to 63 per cent by 2015.

All six major airlines, except leading carrier IndiGo, have been haemorrhaging money but analysts project a brighter future longer-term thanks to India's fast-growing growing middle class. India's carriers lost a total $1.3 billion in the financial year to March, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation consultancy calculates.

Jet's net loss in the last financial year ballooned to 41.3 billion rupees from a 7.8-billion loss the previous year. Debt stood at $1.8 billion.

Etihad's Jet stake enables it to compete better with regional rivals such as Qatar Airways and Emirates which transport a large slice of Indian passenger traffic to the Gulf and beyond. Etihad's purchase of a minority stake in Jet came after the government relaxed foreign ownership rules to allow overseas carriers to buy up to 49 per cent of local airlines.

Jet's hopes of returning to profit come as Indian skies are set to become more congested. Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons are due to launch a new carrier by October. Asia's biggest budget carrier AirAsia launched an Indian airline in June.

Ball said Jet would look at disposing of some planes to staunch losses. Etihad chief executive James Hogan called India one of the "most dynamic markets in the world" with 42 million passengers travelling annually internationally.

Jet and Etihad are using their alliance to increase their global reach through codesharing, selling tickets on each other's routes. Hogan in the last three years has piloted deals taking stakes in seven ailing carriers to help make desert-oil producer Abu Dhabi a thriving passenger hub.

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Tiger Airways' losses widen in Q1

Tiger Airways reported on Wednesday (July 23) a net loss of S$65.2 million for its fiscal first quarter ended in June, doubling the net loss of S$32.8 million in the same period a year ago.

Tiger Airways says the bottomline was hurt by one-time costs related to the shutting down of its loss-making Indonesian venture, Tigerair Mandala. Its share of the loss at Mandala amounted to S$35.3 million. In addition, Tiger Airways booked provision of S$14.6 million in relation to the shutdown.

Meanwhile, total revenue declined by 28.4 per cent to S$169 million.

Tigerair Singapore alone saw an operating loss of S$19.8 million for the April-June period, compared with an operating profit of S$5.9 million in the same period a year ago. But this was an improvement from the previous quarter when it booked an operating loss of $29.4 million.

Revenue climbed by 3.2 per cent to S$166 million.

Looking ahead, the Group says Tigerair Singapore continues to operate in a challenging environment due to persistent oversupply of capacity in the region.

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Changi Airport June passenger traffic: Highest in 2014, but down from a year ago

A total of 4.65 million passengers passed through Changi Airport in June, the highest number this year but a drop of 0.3 per cent when compared with a year ago, Changi Airport Group (CAG) said on Wednesday (July 23).

This is the third monthly on-year decline this year, according to figures provided by CAG.

Aircraft movements for the month dipped 0.5 per cent to 28,130. On the cargo front, 154,700 tonnes of airfreight were processed last month, 0.2 per cent lesser than a year before.

In the first half of this year, 26.61 million passengers travelled through Changi Airport, 1.4 per cent more than the corresponding period in 2013. During the same six-month period, flight movements increased 2.9 per cent to 171,680 while cargo shipments totalled 910,100 tonnes, a growth of 0.6 per cent on-year.

Travel demand within the Asia-Pacific region spurred traffic growth for the half-year, with traffic to North-east Asia and South Asia growing 5.1 per cent and 4.1 per cent, respectively. This was offset by weaker demand for travel to Thailand, which declined 18 per cent for the half-year.

Jakarta continued to top the list of Changi Airport’s busiest routes, followed by Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Manila. Denpasar-Bali registered a strong 31 per cent increase in the first six months of 2014 compared to a year ago, the fastest growing among the top 10 routes.

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SIA aims to cut pilot training time from 3 years to 2

Future Singapore Airlines (SIA) cadet pilots can expect to graduate in two years instead of three, and with skills that should better prepare them for actual flight operations.

The airline has carried out a detailed study on a new multi-crew pilot licence (MPL) programme and is now preparing for a field test.

Unlike the conventional training method, the new teaching programme focuses on simulator experience and multi-crew operations, instead of solo flying.

The plan is for the bulk of the training to be done in Singapore, instead of at SIA's facilities in Australia where cadets currently spend much of their time.

The field test will start soon and involve up to eight new SIA cadets. Those already being trained will not be affected.

SIA spokesman Nicholas Ionides told The Straits Times: "As cadets are immersed early on into the airline environment, the training provided is more airline specific, equipping cadets with the relevant skills to operate in the cockpit of a multi-crew airliner."

Currently, cadets who graduate from the flight academy need to be trained in multi-crew cooperation skills before moving to the aircraft they will be flying.

It takes about three years for the full training to be completed.

SIA is proposing a 24-month plan for its new training programme which must first be approved by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. A spokesman said it is reviewing details of SIA's trial.

So far, budget carrier Tigerair is the only Singapore airline to have been given the green light to conduct multi-crew pilot licence training.

Approved by the International Civil Aviation Organisation in 2006, the new programme is backed by global carriers represented by the International Air Transport Association.

More time spent in flight simulators, and on equipping trainees with interpersonal and communication skills, better prepares them to operate in a multi-crew environment, experts say.

They believe that simulators allowing airlines to put their trainee pilots through many different incidents and scenarios are also more relevant to commercial flying than hours spent in a single-pilot plane.

Captain Mok Hin Choon, president of the Air Line Pilots Association - Singapore, said that while total training time will be cut, he is certain SIA will work closely with the regulator to ensure that safety and other standards are met.

Calling it a step in the right direction, he said: "It makes sense to get trainees accustomed to teamwork and the dynamics of two-man operations instead of a focus on solo flying, the relevance of which in commercial aircraft operations may be questionable."

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Week 64: A320 Type Rating Week 3

First thing I faced this week was Progress Test 2 on Monday morning. After the crazy cramming of A320 systems during the weekend, I was still no where near confident enough to tackle the paper. And I was right; the paper was really tough with 44 questions testing my detailed understanding of minute little details of the different systems in the aircraft.

We went through the paper right after the test and I found that my marks were good enough for a pass but it was near borderline. I'll need to be better than this. Monday noon was more enjoyable as we got introduced to the Flight Management Guidance System(FMGS). The Flight Management Guidance Computer(FMGC) is a part of the FMGS and we learnt how to key in the flight plan as well as the other parameters of the flight into it through the Mulifunction Control Display Unit(MCDU).

I was overwhelmed at the amount of work needed, it was definitely way more complex than what I did with the G1000 system in the C172. In addition, our instructor went through the whole checklist from the gate all the way to the take-off, which took us close to an hour to complete. With such a complex aircraft in our hands, we have so many things to set, check and confirm. We were having trouble to find and identify the right switches and buttons, and that made the whole process very slow.

By the time the aircraft was ready to take-off from the runway, we were already exhausted. Our Monday ended quite late, and we continued with what we left off on Tuesday morning. After the two lessons on FMGS, I came to realise that the tough part of being an airline pilot isn't about the flying as most of the time the plane flies itself. What's tough is all the SOPs and checklists you have to go through, as well as understanding how the systems work. We're mostly managing the plane and making important decisions, rather than literally flying the plane like what we did in our flight training in Australia. This is indeed a big jump from what we were used to.

- Air-con & Pressurization
- Ventilation
- Powerplant
- Fuel Systems
- APU
- Navigation
- Doors/Lights
- Ice/Rain Protection

Above topics were covered in the next three days and we ended the week with another simulator familiarisation session on Friday. Further exercises were carried out on the FMGS and I'm glad to say I'm now more confident in keying in the parameters as well as going where to look for what I want. Slowly but surely, I'm getting the hang of it.

WSSS RWY02C

Night flying

More systems to learn

Quick Reference Handbook with all the checklists

A card with rules at the back to remind us on what to do

Ended the week with a dinner with ATC friend. Discussed about the radio comms at Changi tower and learnt some stuff from her.

Typhoon Rammasun causes SIA plane to hit aerobridge

Singapore Airlines (SIA) confirmed that one of its aircraft parked at the Manila International Airport "came into contact" with an aerobridge due to strong winds from Typhoon Rammasun on Wednesday (July 16).

Responding to queries by Channel NewsAsia, a SIA spokesperson said: "There were no passengers or crew on board at that time and our engineers will assess the aircraft when weather conditions permit.

Alternative travel arrangements are being made for those who were affected as well. "Passengers who are booked on SQ915 for July 16 will be accommodated accordingly in order to minimise disruption to their travel plans," the spokesperson said.

Twitter user @raoulesperas posted an image, and stated that the left wing and engine of the plane were damaged though.

Typhoon Rammasun, locally known as Glenda, caused the Philippine capital to shut down on Wednesday, and authorities said the typhoon claimed at least one life and forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate. Wind gusts of up to 250 kilometres an hour (km/h) were recorded, and intense rain affected those in the city as well as remote fishing villages after the typhoon blew in on Tuesday night.

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Malaysian jet with 298 on board crashes in Ukraine

A Malaysian airliner carrying 298 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed on Thursday in strife-torn east Ukraine, with US officials saying it was shot down by a surface-to-air missile.

Ukraine's government said the jet was shot down in a "terrorist act", while comments attributed to a pro-Russia rebel chief suggested his men may have downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 by mistake, believing it was a Ukrainian army transport plane.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meanwhile said Kiev bore responsibility for the crash, which came as Ukrainian forces battle pro-Moscow insurgents in the east of the country.

As Malaysian investigators headed to the scene, the UN Security Council called an emergency session on Friday to discuss the disaster -- the second to strike the airline in just four months.

Shocked world leaders called for an international inquiry to determine the causes of a disaster with potentially far-reaching political implications, with Britain demanding a UN-led probe.

There was no sign of survivors at the crash site, where an AFP reporter saw horrific scenes, with dozens of mutilated corpses and body parts strewn through the smouldering wreck of the Boeing 777.

Charred debris stinking of kerosene stretched for kilometres across the rebel-controlled zone in the Donetsk region. A top rebel leader said his forces were prepared to agree to a short ceasefire to allow for the recovery operation.

Shell-shocked locals said the impact felt "like an earthquake" in their village of Grabove, near the Russian border.

"Those poor people," said Natalia, 36. "Do you think they understood a thing about this war in Ukraine -- even we don't understand it."

At Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, from where the ill-fated jet took off, an AFP reporter saw family members in tears, while Dutch television broadcast harrowing images of passports found in the wreck, including those of children.

Europe's flight safety body Eurocontrol said Ukrainian authorities had closed the airspace over the east of the country, after a string of countries advised their carriers to stay away.

In Amsterdam, Malaysia Airlines vice president Huib Gorter said 283 passengers and 15 crew were aboard the plane. That total included 154 Dutch nationals, 27 Australians and 23 Malaysians.

The airline said on Twitter that Ukrainian air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane at 1415 GMT, about four hours into its flight, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.

The disaster comes just months after Malaysia's Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 with 239 on board. That plane diverted from its Kuala Lumpur to Beijing flight path and its fate remains a mystery despite a massive multinational aerial and underwater search.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Twitter he was "shocked by reports that an MH plane crashed" and announced an "immediate investigation."

Najib later told reporters a team of investigators had been dispatched to Kiev, along with a disaster assistance team.

Europe and US stock markets were sent tumbling by the crash, which escalated tensions fuelled by broadened US and EU sanctions aimed at pressuring Russia to force the rebels in Ukraine's east to end their three-month insurgency that has claimed more than 600 lives.

US President Barack Obama offered assistance to "help determine what happened and why".

Boeing also said it was ready to assist in any way.

The Kremlin said Putin and Obama -- at loggerheads over the new wave of sanctions -- had discussed the crash. Obama later called Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Najib.

Two US officials told AFP that intelligence analysts were reviewing the data to see whether the missile used to down the aircraft was launched by pro-Moscow separatists, Russian troops across the border or Ukrainian government forces.

"We are working through all the analysis," said one official.

But that there was little doubt that the plane was struck by a surface-to-air missile, the official said.

"That's what we strongly believe."

In Detroit, US Vice President Joe Biden said the plane was "apparently... and I say apparently because we don't have all the details yet... shot down. Not an accident. Blown out of the sky."

There were conflicting claims of responsibility after the shocking new development in crisis-torn Ukraine, where fighting between separatists and the Western-backed government has claimed over 600 lives.

Poroshenko's spokesman said he believed pro-Russian insurgents downed the jet.

"This incident is not a catastrophe. It is a terrorist act," the spokesman, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, said on Twitter.

The Ukrainian leader said Kiev's armed forces "did not fire at any targets in the sky" and vowed "those behind this tragedy will be brought to justice".

Rebels in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic claimed the airline split in two after being shot down by a Ukrainian jet -- which was then shot down in turn.

But a social media site attributed to the top military commander of the Donetsk People's Republic, Igor Strelkov, said the insurgents shot down an army transporter at the exact site of the Malaysia Airlines crash.

The comments suggested separatists targeted the jet in the mistaken belief it was an An-26 Ukrainian army transport plane.

"We just downed an An-26 near Torez. It is down near the Progress mine," said the VK page attributed to Strelkov.

"And here is a video confirming that a 'bird fell'," said the post, providing a link identical to that published by Ukrainian media in reports about the Malaysia Airlines jet.

Alexander Borodai, prime minister of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic", meanwhile told AFP that separatist forces would be ready to commit to a truce for several days to allow full access to the site.

The crash came with tensions already soaring after Kiev accused Russia of downing a Ukrainian military plane on a mission over the east of the country on Wednesday, the first direct claim of a Russian attack on Ukrainian forces.

Russia's defence ministry -- which NATO claims has massed some 12,000 troops along Ukraine's porous border -- dismissed the claim as "absurd", news agencies reported.

The dramatic developments on the ground came alongside the already serious fallout from fresh US and EU sanctions slapped on Russia.

Moscow condemned the measures as "blackmail" and warned of retaliatory action against Washington, which targeted major players in Russia's finance, military and energy sectors in the sanctions.

In eastern Ukraine, fierce fighting has intensified in recent days with some 55 civilians killed since the weekend, as efforts to revive talks on a ceasefire between Kiev and the rebels falter.

Ukrainian forces made a string of major gains after Poroshenko tore up an unsuccessful truce earlier this month, but progress has slowed since rebels retreated into two major regional centres where they have pledged to fight to the end.

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Airbus tails Boeing thanks to "best" Farnborough orders

Airbus has enjoyed its best ever Farnborough show in terms of orders, the head of the European planemaker said on Thursday, helping it close the gap on US rival Boeing.

Airbus said it had won commitments and firm orders for 496 planes worth more than $75 billion (55 billion euros) at the key industry sales event that alternates annually with the Paris airshow.

Boeing said it had clinched deals for 201 aircraft worth more than $40 billion.

"This is the best Farnborough airshow in Airbus history and this is the third biggest if we include the Paris airshow," chief executive Fabrice Bregier told a press conference at the event near London, which opens its doors to the public over the weekend for flypasts.

The latest deals confirmed on Thursday saw leasing company Hong Kong Aviation Capital sign a firm order for 70 single-aisle A320neo passenger planes from Airbus.

The fuel-efficient jets are valued at $7.72 billion at list prices but customers tend to receive significant discounts on such purchases.

"The green credentials of the neo is one of the key factors for us to choose the aircraft," said HKAC chief executive Donal Boylan.

Transaero, Russia's second-biggest airline, meanwhile said it is committed to buy 20 A330 aircraft, including a dozen new fuel-efficient neos, worth $5.3 billion.

"The clear winner of the show was Airbus," noted Deutsche bank analyst Myles Walton.

Airbus had dominated the start of the week-long Farnborough event, securing a host of commitments for its new long-haul A330neo passenger plane -- from air leasing companies and the airline AirAsia X -- but no firm orders.

- Boeing orders top $40b -

Boeing's big moment at Farnborough came on Wednesday, when it concluded a deal with Qatar Airways for 50 of its revamped long-haul passenger jets along with a potential order for 50 more.

"Customers demonstrated their strong confidence in the family of Boeing commercial products, announcing orders and commitments for 201 Boeing airplanes valued at more than $40.2 billion at list prices," the group said in a statement on Thursday.

Ahead of the show, Airbus had lagged Boeing with 290 net plane orders versus 499 for the US group since the start of the year, when deliveries and cancellations were also taken into account.

The gap now stands at 648 versus 783 in favour of Boeing.

Launched at Farnborough on Monday, the Airbus A330neo airliner is a revamped version of the A330, sporting latest generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines to provide more economical long-haul travel.

Airbus said it had secured 121 commitments for the A330neo at Farnborough.

Bregier on Thursday said Airbus had no plans in the short term to upgrade the engines on the A380 superjumbo, on display at Farnborough but which won no new orders.

Boeing is meanwhile changing the engines on its long-haul 777 model, helping it to secure new sales as economic recovery picks up around the globe.

Production of the 777X is set to begin in 2017, with the first delivery targeted for 2020.

First deliveries of the Airbus 330neo are scheduled for the end of 2017.

Brazilian group Embraer, the world's third-largest commercial planemaker, also won orders worth billions of dollars for its regional jets at Farnborough, including its new single-aisle E195-E2 jet.

- Furtive F-35 -

Missing from the show however was a much-anticipated appearance of the F-35 fighter jet.

The US military said on Tuesday that it would not send the plane to Farnborough after an engine fire grounded the entire fleet, in another embarrassing setback for the Pentagon's most expensive programme ever.

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Airbus says Transaero Airlines plans US$5.3b planes deal

European planemaker Airbus said on Thursday that Transaero, Russia's second-biggest airline, intends to buy 20 of its long-haul A330 aircraft, including a dozen new fuel-efficient neo jets.

Airbus said at the Farnborough airshow that Transaero had committed to buy 20 A330 planes, comprising eight A330ceo (current engine option) and 12 A330neo (new engine option) jets worth a combined $5.3 billion (3.9 billion euros) at list prices.

"This agreement makes Transaero an important launch customer and the first European airline to commit to the A330neo," Airbus said in a statement.

"The A330s will allow Transaero to continue the massive fleet modernization program and to boost its medium and long-haul domestic and international network."

Launched at Farnborough on Monday, the neo plane is a revamped version of the A330 and sports engine upgrades to provide more economical long-haul travel.

Airbus has won 121 commitments for the neo at Farnborough but no firm orders.

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Hong Kong company orders 70 Airbus A320neos for US$7.72b

Leasing company Hong Kong Aviation Capital has signed a firm order for 70 single-aisle A320neo passenger planes from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the pair announced on Thursday.

The fuel-efficient jets are valued at US$7.72 billion (5.7 billion euros) at list prices, Airbus said at the Farnborough airshow.

"We are pleased to have finalised the order for 70 A320neo family aircraft with Airbus," said HKAC chief executive Donal Boylan.

"The green credentials of the neo is one of the key factors for us to choose the aircraft and through reduced fuel burn and emissions, HKAC will enable its airline clients to reduce operating cost while improving their environment impact."

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Air India pares loss but no privatisation on horizon

State-run carrier Air India has pared its losses thanks to a better all-round performance, but the new right-wing government has no plans to privatise the flagship airline, a statement said.

Air India, once the country's monopoly airline, now holds just 20 per cent of the passenger market as once-loyal travellers fly nimbler private-sector rivals in the midst of cut-throat price wars.

Air India's net loss narrowed to 53.8 billion rupees ($894 million) in the financial year to March 31, from a loss of 54.9 billion rupees a year earlier, junior civil aviation minister G M Siddeswara told parliament in a statement late on Tuesday.

Siddeswara added that there were no plans to sell off Air India "under consideration", despite proposals by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to increase privatisation revenues generally to cut a yawning fiscal deficit.

Analysts have long cited Air India as a problem for the government which is dependent on taxpayer funds.

Showing a strong improvement, the airline's operating loss narrowed to 21.20 billion rupees from 38 billion rupees in 2012-13 and 51.40 billion rupees in 2011-2012.

The operating result gives the clearest guide to performance, showing operating expenses against sales revenue, stripping out one-off income or spending.

All but one of India's main half-dozen carriers, Indigo, are losing money, smarting from fare rivalry, high fuel costs and hefty debts.

The government in 2012 gave the carrier a $5.85-billion bailout package.

Air India, which hasn't reported an annual profit since 2007, has "shown improvement in its financial parameters" since the government bailout, the minister said.

Air India has been keen to improve its reputation after a string of recent technical glitches, including last weekend when an India-bound flight from New Jersey in the US was forced to return when an engine caught fire.

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Hainan Airlines commits to 50 Boeing 737 MAX jets

China's Hainan Airlines is finalising a deal to buy 50 fuel-efficient 737 MAX passenger planes from US aircraft maker Boeing, the two companies announced on Wednesday.

The commitment for the single-aisle 737 MAX 8s, worth a total of more than $5.1 billion at catalogue prices, is subject to approval by the Chinese government, the companies said at the Farnborough airshow.

"The new 737 MAX will help our airline grow, become more efficient and offer five-star service for our passengers," said Hainan Group chairman Adam Tan.

Boeing said Hainan was "finalising terms and working toward a purchase agreement for 50 737 MAX 8s".

"The commitment, valued at more than $5.1 billion at current list prices, will be subject to the approval of the Chinese government," a statement added.

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